Smartwatch battle: G Watch R vs Gear S

Competition between Samsung and LG heats up to provide the best smartwatch in the market. The South Korean vendors provided a sneak peek on their soon-to-be-released wearable devices—to be pitted against Apple's device that is also expected to arrive shortly.

LG puts its bet on G Watch R, the second coming of its earlier-released Android G Watch sporting a traditional circular wristwatch design. Samsung, on the other hand, touts Gear S—a smartwatch that features 3G connectivity and runs on its home-grown OS, Tizen.

Design-wise, LG steps it up with a 1.3-inch plastic OLED screen with a resolution of 320px x 320px, and an interchangeable 22mm calf skin leather strap. LG emphasises that the G Watch R (which stands for round, differentiating it from its square-shaped predecessor) uses 100 per cent of the display's pixels, boasting image clarity when viewed from any angle and even under bright sunlight.

G Watch R claims to be the very first to feature full circle P-OLED display. Source: LG

Meanwhile, Samsung equips its Gear S with a large curved Super AMOLED display, which stretches two full inches across the diagonal and has 480px x 320px for resolution, rivalling some smartphones.

The LG G Watch R is powered by a powerful 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 processor. It provides 4GB of storage, 512MB of RAM and a durable 410mAh battery. These specs allow all compatible apps available in the Google Play Store to run smoothly on the device. It also integrates an Ingress Protection Rating of IP67, designed to run for up to 30 minutes in one metre of water.

The merit of Gear S lies in its ability to make and receive phone calls. It supports global 3G frequencies and can also send and receive text messages without requiring a smartphone. It also has Bluetooth and WiFi radios and can connect to a smartphone. It can receive a range of smart notifications—from social networks to calendars and applications—even when the device is away from a smartphone. Samsung's S Voice tool can be used to control the device via voice commands.